RWB Meet Tokyo: Why Less Is Better Than More

We’ve already established that Speedhunters quite likes Japan, and Why Car Meets are Better than Car Shows, so a car meet in Japan should be not bad at all.

On Thursday before Tokyo Auto Salon, the RWB meet kicked TAS festivities off in Kashiwa. With the Tokyo authorities conveniently carrying out ‘roadworks’ at all of the popular car spots during TAS weekend, the organised meetings get pushed further out or shut down.

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Nakai-san threw this wide-bodied party across multiple small public car parks, so you ended up having little pockets of RWB cars scattered amongst minivans, hybrids and kei cars. This actually worked very well, because you got to see how bonkers these RWB cars really are when parked next to a Honda Civic, which you don’t get at car events like SEMA.

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Nevertheless, there was still a car show feel to the event because of the sheer amount of people shooting video and taking photographs. It was fairly hectic, so after about an hour we left and headed to get some food with the guys from CSF and Rywire.

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On the way back to Tokyo, I processed what I like the most about cars and meets. It always comes back to one thing: the drive to and from the destination is the best part of these gatherings. It sounds cheesy and cliché, but after all, that’s what cars are all about. Seeing a RAUH-Welt Begriff 911 at a car meet is pretty special, but to see an RWB unexpectedly in the ‘wild’ is just something else.

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In a you-couldn’t-make-this-up-case-in-point-kind-of-way, with the food mission complete and our car parked up in the hotel’s basement, Mark and I made the short walk to the elevator, only to round a corner and see the satanic Baphomet car just casually sitting there. Weirdly, we lost our minds and spent about 10 minutes taking photographs and talking about the car. Time stopped for a moment, and the mild food coma I was experiencing was quickly forgotten about.

What does this all mean? Well, for me, less is better than more. Akira Nakai is a one-man machine behind the movement that is RWB. There’s no big corporation, no gimmicks or tricks, and Nakai-san is the realest of deals when it comes to his hands-on approach to building cars. In a weird way, RWB personifies the ‘keep it simple’ philosophy.

Excuse me if I sound slightly mad, because it would appear that my brain thinks that less sleep is better than more, too. Quite simply, Japan is the place where my mind is so excited by the sensory overload, that I can barely power down for more than two hours at a time.

In 2020, I am all for small car meets, a few track days and keeping it simple. Less is more. What do you enjoy most about car culture? Let us know in the comments section.

Ben Chandler
Instagram: ben_scenemedia
ben@speedhunters.com

Photography by Mark Riccioni
Instagram: mark_scenemedia
Twitter: markriccioni
mark@speedhunters.com

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29 comments

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1

Haha, maybe not everybody will recognize it, but the light blue 993 is actually not a RWB car, but a GT 2 (bodied) car. Was this the "real deal"?

Small meets are always best, you are absolutely right, Ben and Marc. It´s about meeting friends and new people and the always friendly and family-like atmosphere, that´s what I like the most and mostly the reason for me, to not go on meets, which are too big.

Thank you for this amazing coverage. It can´t get any better than seeing pictures of modified cars in Tokio at night. Really looking forward, to all the "small meet coverages" this year. :)

2

That car is not a GT2 Evo. First RWB bodykits for 993 are based on the same look.

Author3

Alberto knows what's up

4

For me this is the real nightlife. Just awesome work!

5

BAPHOMET

Author6

YES!

7

Less certainly is better than more. Someone should tell that to Nakai too

Author8

The Stella car embodies everything that is raw about car modification. Nakai doesn't need to be told anything.

9
A big bag of rivets

and a couple of tubes of black silicone adhesive...

Quality.

10

These things remind me of those vans that are modified to look like a Voltron robot... "Less is more" is the most important design principle, followed by "form follows function"... and often overlooked.

11

I love RWB
They do a classic Porsche right like its both vintage and modern at the same time

12

Sorry to be off-topic, but does anyone know when the Speedhunters store goes online again? thanks

13
Dino Dalle Carbonare

Working on it!

14

While they are nice cars, I struggle to see all the excitement about RWB cars. They're just the exact same thing over and over and over and over again. RWB is like the HSV of old Porsches.

Author15

Every RWB is different, but then every person is different, so we can't always agree on the same thing. Dare I say, we shouldn't agree on everything, otherwise it would be a very noring world.

16

track day and real people.

Author17

= Life

18

Please explain the parking spaces that looked to be designed specifically to scare lowered cars away from parking in them.

Author19

They are designed to lock the cars in place once the vehicle is parked and then the system lowers once payment is made. Fairly frightening when you first see them, but not too bad at all once you get your head around these things. Plus, Japan barely has any speed bumps. You could go a whole week without coming across one, so these are all good with me.

20

How else are you going to keep the stance scourge away?

21

Car Show — Stadium Concert
Car Meets — Live Gig

Great article and pics as ever — I'll get out to Japan one day.

Author22

Nicely put, Chris

23

"Why Less Is Better Than More "

I guess you weren't talking about width of the wheel arches eh :-)

Author24

Ha - clearly not :)

25

I like the look, but god damn how many RWBs are there? Y'all made Nakai a millionaire! lol

Author26

hahaha

27

Over a hundred already probably.

28

Thank you for coming to our gathering. Appreciate the support. It is our largest annual gathering, with people coming from all over Japan and the world. It’s our special moment to be together. See you next year. RWB YOSHIWARA

Author29

Certainly a different meet and a real pleasure to attend. See you next year.

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